Celtic seem to be interested in the Ligue 1 defender

Celtic are interested in Rennes defender Brandon Soppy, and that might be a setback for Lee O’Connor.

Earlier this week, French journalist Manu Lonjon maintained Soppy was the subject of interest from Celtic, RB Leipzig and Nice.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been linked with a move for the £7.4m-rated 18-year-old.

The interest in another right-back of Celtic came as a surprise given the current choices in the position, as the Hoops look set to have Jeremie Frimpong Hatem Abd Elhamed and O’Connor all battling for a first-team spot next season.

However, should Celtic pursue a move for Soppy this summer, that could spell trouble for the latter.

Both Elhamed and Frimpong have been regulars at the first-team this year when matched, whilst O’Connor didn’t break throughout the first half of the campaign into the team and was loaned to Partick Thistle in January.

If a different right-back comes for a fee in the region of £7m, particularly in this summer, he’s likely to fall down the pecking order.

And that would be a pity considering how talented a player he appears to be, given how Mick McCarthy handed him his Republic of Ireland debut earlier this year.

Moreover, the signs for his Celtic future seemed to be positive last week, amid reports Neil Lennon was set to advise against purchasing Moritz Bauer on a permanent deal this summer.